Market Research and Development of a Summer Shoe for Balenciaga

Desklib provides past papers and solved assignments. This project details market research for Balenciaga's summer shoe.

MANAGING A SUCCESSFUL BUSINESS PROJECT
BALENCIAGA

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION............................................................................................................................. 2
TITLE.............................................................................................................................................. 3
A) PROJECT AIMS AND OBJECTIVES...............................................................................................3
Project Background....................................................................................................................3
Aims and Objectives.................................................................................................................. 3
Timeframe................................................................................................................................. 4
B) PROJECT MANAGEMENT PLAN..................................................................................................5
Work-breakdown structure and Gantt chart.............................................................................8
C) QUALITATIVE AND QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH........................................................................10
Qualitative Research................................................................................................................10
Quantitative Research............................................................................................................. 12
Accuracy and reliability of the applied research methods.......................................................13
D) & E) ANALYSIS AND PRESENTATION OF RESEARCH FINDINGS................................................14
F) CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS................................................................................20
G) PERFORMANCE REVIEW..........................................................................................................21
REFERENCES.................................................................................................................................22
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INTRODUCTION
Globalisation has transformed the business structure and functioning of several large and small
business organisations by providing them with higher growth opportunities for global business
expansion. Along with it, it has also created high competition for local as well as multinational
business organisations (Donzé and Fujioka, 2015). Thus, every large and small business
organisations have to constantly perform market research for developing competitive products
and services to offer in the marketplace. Here, a research project for luxury fashion house
“Balenciaga” has been carried for developing a summer shoe for the upcoming summer season.
This research was mainly focused to develop a competitive luxury product in order to contend
with existing luxury brands in the market. A launch event for the product launching will also be
planned to sell the product to the major industry representatives during upcoming London
Fashion Week on 16th-20th February 2019.
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TITLE
“Conducting market research for developing and promoting a new range of
summer Shoe for Balenciaga to contend in global luxury shoe market”
A) PROJECT AIMS AND OBJECTIVES
Project Background
Balenciaga is a luxury fashion brand based in Spain. The company was founded by Cristóbal
Balenciaga in 1917. At present, the brand is owned by a French multinational company. It is a
well-reputed brand famous for its uncompromised standards and also referred to as the
“master of us all” by Christian Dior. It is a subsidiary of KERING Luxury Division is developing
into a major player in the luxury goods industry. It creates and markets ready-to-wear men's
and women's collections involving shoes, leather goods, eyewear collection and fragrances
(Balenciaga, 2019). Currently, there is a high competition in the luxury goods industry and in
order to deal with such problem the company has decided to develop and launch a new range
of summer shoe to compete in the global luxury goods industry. The company has also planning
to launch its newly developed summer shoe in the upcoming fashion event; London Fashion
week to sell its new summer shoe to the major fashion retailers in the industry.
Aims and Objectives
This research is aimed at analysing the market demand with respect to the luxury summer shoe
through market research. It is also focused on promoting the product successfully among the
customers and major fashion retailers in the industry.
Objectives:
 To identify and analyse the demand for summer shoe in the global luxury market
 To identify challenges and opportunities in the global luxury goods market
 To develop a new range of summer shoe
 To successfully promote the product in the market
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Timeframe
Time is one of the most crucial factors in any research project. It is very important to set a
particular timeframe for completing a project effectively as in the absence of set time limit the
project activities may not be effectively performed (Kerznerand Kerzner, 2017). Thus, a
complete timeframe of 10 weeks is set for this project. The timeframe for different project
activities is divided as below:
S.No. Date Activity Deliverables
1. 3rd
December’18
Preparing a project plan Project background is understood and project
aims and objectives are set.
2. 10th December
'18
Conducting secondary
research
Understanding the current state of
competition in the global luxury fashion
industry
3. 20th
December’18
Conducting primary research Collecting first-hand data on demand and
market conditions for launching a new
summer shoe range.
4. 20th January
'19
Analysing research outcomes Drawing results from the research through
interpreting research data.
5. 1st
February’19
Designing and developing new
summer shoe
Development and designing of new summer
shoe on the basis of market needs and
demand.
6. 10th
February’19
Planning for promoting and
launching a new product
A set promotion plan for launching product
among the market representatives.
7. 15th
February’19
Project completion Successful development and promotion of
the project.
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B) PROJECT MANAGEMENT PLAN
For achieving the project aims and objectives successfully, a project management plan
encompassing all the important elements of the project are as presented below:
Project cost:
A critical market research and product development will require a higher cost. So
approximately £118,000will be required to perform all the activities of this project and attain
project aims and objectives (Kerznerand Kerzner, 2017). The cost structure of the project is as
below:
ACTIVITY COST
Preparing a project plan £1000
Conducting secondary research £5000
Conducting primary research £10,000
Analysing research outcomes £5,000
Designing and developing new summer shoe £50,000
Planning for promoting and launching a new product £2,000
Product marketing £20,000
Project completion £15,000
Scope of the project:
This project will enable Balenciaga to attain higher competitiveness in the global luxury fashion
market by offering high standard, customised summer shoe in the luxury shoe industry as per
the demands of its customers. This project would also support in successful promotion and
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launch of new Balenciaga summer shoe in the targeted market. This project scope is limited as
it does not involve a detailed operational framework for developing new summer shoe range.
Project quality:
The quality of the project should be well-maintained just like the product quality and standards
of Balenciaga products. Thus, quality assurance and quality control techniques are used at
every stage of the project (Meredith and Mantel, 2011). The quality is ensured by comparing
the project performance with the prepared project plan.
Project Communication plan:
A communication plan helps in ensuring the proper flow of information and performance of
work among all the levels of the project. The different project activities are performed by the
different specialist that needs to exchange specific information with each other; a project
communication plan is prepared to manage the flow of information throughout the project
(Heagney, 2016).
WHAT TO WHOM HOW WHEN
Updates related to
project
Team members and
staff
E-mails and calls Every week
Progress report Project manager Meetings Every alternate day
Evaluation report Project manager Meetings After completion of specific
activity
Feedbacks Employees and
participants
letters Every day and after the
project completion
Required resources:
The key resources required for this research are a capital investment, human resource,
machinery and material. A team of 20-50 people is required to perform all the activities of the
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project involving project planning, market research, product designing, product development,
promotion and launching of the product.
Risk management plan:
Every project involves certain issues and risks that may affect project performance and
implementation (Heagney, 2016). The main risks and their impact on the project as well as the
ways to resolve the risks are presented in the below Risk management plan.
Possibility Of
Risk
Risk
Level
Details Impact On Project Response To Risk
medium Low Lack of time It may result in a delay of
complete project and due
to which the company
may lose a chance of
launching the new
product in the London
fashion week event.
A time management plan
is prepared and proper
monitoring and
controlling of activities is
done from time to time.
medium high Lack of supply May affect the quality of
the project
Through preparing
budgets and assessing
required resources.
high higher Technical
errors
It can affect project
quality and delay in the
project.
Through ensuring
alternative options for
technical work.
low medium Accidents and
uncertain
issues
May affect project
performance and quality
as well as also delay the
project
Uncertain issues will be
handled according to the
situation and severity of
the issue.
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Work-breakdown structure and Gantt chart
Work-breakdown Structure
A work breakdown structure is used to organise the project activities in different sections so as
to simply the project performance and monitoring of the project activities (Devi and Reddy,
2012). It ensures effective management and control over the project.
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WORKBREAKDOWNSTRUCTUREProjectPlanningDevisingstrategyformarketresearchAllocatingResourcesMarketResearchAnalysingResearchDataPlanningForProductDevelopmentDevelopingNewProductMarketingNewProductLaunchingNewProduct

Gantt Chart
A Gantt chart could significantly use to allocate time for every activity of the project. It displays
the project activities against the required time-frame in a simple format:
Activity/time 2 weeks 4 weeks 6 weeks 8 weeks 10 weeks
Preparing a project plan
Conducting secondary
research
Conducting primary research
Analysing research outcomes
Designing and developing
new summer shoe
Planning for promoting and
launching a new product
Product marketing
Project completion
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C) QUALITATIVE AND QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH
The qualitative and quantitative research has been performed for obtaining relevant data and
information that would support in identifying the current level of competition in the luxury
fashion shoe industry as well as the demand for summer shoe in the global luxury shoe market.
This research has supported the company in designing and developing competitive summer
shoes that could grasp the interest of major industry retailers and customers in the market.
The qualitative research is done to obtain non-numerical data related to the current level of
competition in the luxury fashion shoe industry. The qualitative research has been performed
through a literature review method. The data has been collected through accessing current
fashion magazines, journals and articles as well as some online sources (Neuman, 2013). The
secondary research has supported in identifying the latest trends in the luxury fashion industry
as well as the current level of competition. On the contrary, quantitative research is ben
performed through a survey questionnaire. This has supported in analysing and identifying the
current interest and demand of customers in the luxury summer shoe segment (Brannen,
2017). The quantitative research has supported in obtaining numerical and statistical
information that has supported in ensuring validity and reliability of the research.
Qualitative Research
According to Bain & Company (2018), the luxury goods industry has faced numerous changes
over the past two decades. The varying economic trends, evolving consumer preferences and
rapid digital transformation are creating a totally different and new competitive scenario for the
traditional corporate strategies of the existing luxury brands. On considering all the luxury
segments, in 2017, the global luxury market has grown by 5% to an estimated amount of 1.2.
Trillion Euros. According to Wolfe (2016), The market of personal luxury goods has reached
around a record high of 262 billion Euros. The personal luxury goods market has experienced
growth across all the regions of the world. Wholesale is the largest channel for personal luxury
goods as it accounts for two-thirds of overall sales. Nevertheless, the retail channel has also
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continued to grow steadily at a rate of 8%. The main growth engines of the luxury market are
young millennials as 85% of the sales account for millennials.
D’Arpizio, et al., (2017) has stated that personal luxury goods are such luxury goods that are
used for self-grooming such as beauty products, shoes, apparels and jewellery. The global
luxury goods market is expected to grow at a healthy rate in the upcoming years. Shoes,
jewellery and handbags are ranked as the fastest growing category of luxury products. The
growth in the personal luxury goods segment is estimated to continue at a 4-5% annual rate
over the next 3 years. For gaining the attention of the customers and better customer
engagement, the luxury brands need to reinvent themselves and adopt technology for reaching
to a wide range of customer
According to a report by Deloitte, (2018), The growth of the luxury market is supported by
certain factors such as the booming tourism sector, expanding middle-class population and
increasing disposable income. Some of the major challenges faced by the luxury goods market
are Vulnerability to currency fluctuation, an inability of brands in predicting consumer
preferences and demand and prone to socio-economic or political conflicts. However, the
collaboration of luxury brands with the major fashion retailers and switch to online channels for
reaching out a high number of potential customers are some of the latest trends in the luxury
personal goods industry.
According to Seo and Buchanan-Oliver, (2015) the retail and supply chain of luxury goods is now
spread across the globe. Europe and the US account for higher sales in the sector. Asia, Latin
America, Africa and Middle are also becoming increasingly important for the luxury fashion
brands as the sales in these regions are continuously rising. Technological innovation,
international investment, and supply chain leadership are the main boosters to enhance sales in
the non-western markets.
As stated in Reuters, (2018) Men and young millennial shoppers are the main drivers of
boosting sales at Balenciaga. Millennials are fuelling growth across the luxury goods industry
that also accounts a third of global sales. The top luxury fashion brands are striving for the
attention of these millennials. Millennials represent 60 % of sales that is growing rapidly.
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